The 84-year-old retired astronaut and second person to walk on the moon walked into his downtown Los Angeles office, still wearing a kippah from the Jewish wedding he just attended (his divorce attorney’s, no less).

Waiting for him was Reese Hartwig, 15, and Ella Wahlestedt, 15, and producer Andrew Panay, some of the cast and crew of “Earth to Echo,” the new family film out for the Fourth of July. It stars Hartwig and Wahlestedt, among others, as a group of Nevada preteens who find a tiny robotic alien in the middle of the desert. The comparisons to the classic “E.T. The Extra Terrestrial” are aplenty.

Aldrin had seen “Earth to Echo” prior to meeting the trio, and gave it a glowing review.

“I thought ‘Earth to Echo’ was better than ‘E.T.,’” Aldrin told them. “I’m not sure how E.T. got here. It wasn’t too clear. And he was more of a weird animal-looking (creature). I think we’re beginning to move into the world of electronics and robotics and survival of surfaces. E.T. would be fried by the radiation.”

Looking around Aldrin’s downtown flat, it’s obvious he still has the moon on his mind 45 years after being part of the Apollo 11 mission, the first manned lunar landing that blasted off July 20, 1969. Aldrin’s space is covered in everything related to the distant rock on which he once kangaroo jumped: A moon pillow. An MTV Music Award trophy that features the cable channel’s moon-walking astronaut mascot. Posters, magazines and memorabilia show a younger Aldrin alongside Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins, the other members of Apollo 11.

Ever wanted to know what’s in Buzz Aldrin’s DVD collection? “Fly Me to the Moon” and “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” among others.

The only thing that didn’t reference the moon was the “Dancing with the Stars” mug he was drinking out of, but he even landed on that television show back in 2010.

July 20 marks the 45th anniversary of the lift-off of Apollo 11. It landed the first humans on the moon, while also propelling Aldrin into a national hero and pop culture icon. According to Aldrin, it’s the reason technology is what it is today.

“The Silicon Valley, iPhones, iPads and all the communication stuff — security things for military activities, reconnaissance, lenses — all that came from the space program and people don’t realize it,” Aldrin said.

Aldrin, in fact, was texting on his iPhone.

“(People) say this has more memory,” Aldrin continued, holding up his iPhone. “I’m not trying to be facetious but (if) I can throw this up in the air, can it align itself? Can it take a star sighting and find out exactly where it is as it comes down? Can it make a smooth landing?”

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“No.”

“Well, how can you tell me that this is so much better?” Aldrin went on. “We did the absolute best with the memory we had then. It’s a tribute to the cleverness of the people who did that, because, where did they end up? In Silicon Valley. And they made these things because of what we did before.”

The absence of human space travel needs to change, according to Aldrin. He even wants to see colonies on Mars one day, he said.

For the 45th anniversary of Apollo 11, Aldrin has announced four goals that he said should be examined to ensure future human flights to space: stronger U.S.-China space relations; lunar exploration; asteroid exploration and Mars exploration and, eventually, colonizing Mars.

The representatives from “Earth” listened to the moon man talk about being the second man to walk on its surface, on the heels of Neil Armstrong. Hartwig, Wahlestedt and Panay listened to Aldrin discuss walking on the moon’s squishy surface, Mars, how a 360-pound backpack on Earth weighed the same as a 160-pound man on the moon, or how the smudge marks got on his spacesuit (he never fell, but talcum powder from Armstrong’s boots were left behind on one of the ladder rungs, which rubbed off on Aldrin’s suit).

“Buzz is a legend, and I was so excited to meet him,” Wahlestedt said. “I’m just an actress. He’s a legend. I learned so much from him.”

Hartwig showed Aldrin his copy of a fourth-grade report he did on Aldrin, which he signed.

“I felt he was just an interesting person to talk about, and now meeting him today is a dream,” Hartwig said. “I feel like I can learn a lot from this guy. A lot of acting is experience, and Buzz probably has the most experience of anyone in the world. He’s been to the moon, he’s been in the Air Force, he’s been on “Dancing with the Stars.”

Aldrin’s office showed a work-in-progress video that will launch in time for the 45th anniversary. Famous faces including J.J. Abrams of “Star Trek” and the upcoming “Star Wars,” Neil deGrasse Tyson and John Travolta share where they were when the Moon landing happened. Using #Apollo45 later this month, anyone can upload their reflection video from that historic day.

Aldrin hopes that for the 50th anniversary, things are even bigger.

“The 45th anniversary for many of us is a five-year lead-up to the 50th, which is a big anniversary,” Aldrin said, “and some of us are going to make it as big as we can, reflecting on all the benefits.”